Comminuting apparatus



Jan. 17, 1967 T. RosET-r COMMINUTING APPARATUS Filed June 2, 1964INVENTOR, Theodore Roseff ATTORNE Y the subcellular components of thetissue specimens.

United States Patent() which may include aspects of breaking, cutting,grinding v and pressing. The invention is particularly directed to anapparatus for dividing human and anim-al tissues into particles.` Y,

In various medical investigations, it becomes necessary to divide tissuespecimens such as a section yof vunbilical 'cord until the specimen isbroken down intoits subcellular components.- The subcellular componentstogether4 withtheliquid components `,of the specimen are ideally broughtinto a homogenized solution during the course of dividing the specimen.for this .purpose have included the Waring Blendor type structure andmortar and pestle glass cone type structures both of which are foundinpractice to do d-amageto This Prior art 1 devices jected to an extensiveabrading or Vgrinding action be- 'tween the parts of the prior artdevices which disrupts the subcellular comp-onents, vproducesnon-uniformparticles andfprevents the obtaining of the desired homogenous solution.

The present invention has therefore as a general object the provision ofa novel apparatus .for dividing materials and which is specifically`adaptable to dividing tissue down to its subcellular components withoutdisrupting such components. f

AnotherV objectis to provide ank apparatus for dividing 'tissue land,producing therefrom a homogenized solution.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for dividing materials whichenables free oating blades to be employed thereby eliminating the needinterconnecting the blades. i

Another object is to provide a laboratory :apparatus for dividing tissuematerials whichcan be easily disassembled and cleaned. i

4These and Yother objects will` appear as the description proceeds, andin the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of ardrill press Iadapted to practice theinvention.

FIGURE 2 is a :perspective assembly view of a spindle usedin theinvention with the drill press of FIGURE l. 4 FIGURE 3 is .a perspectiveof a receptacle'used with the invention. l i

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cutaway perspective of the receptacle `of FIGURE3 land showing' the relative arrangement of the comminuting elements ofthe invention within the' receptacle.

FIGURE 5 is similar to FIGURE 4 showing ho-wthe comminuting` elementsare pressed together during operation of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of comminuting discs used in theinvention andillustrating various forms which the disc perforations may take; Y

FIGURE 7 is a cross section elevation of comminuting disc per-forationsused in the Yinvention and illustrating various cross section shapesthat may be employed.

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view illustrating a comminuting disc surfaceadapted to performa grinding effect. v l v Referring next' to thedrawings in which like numerals refer to similar parts in thevariousviews, there is shown for powering and Maice in FIGURE la typicalbench drill press and stand generally indicated at 10. v Drillpress 10includes the usual operating lever llvthat moves as indicate-d bythearrow and which in turn --causes thee-chuck 12vto move downwardly in thedirection of its axis of rotation as the chuck rotates. It is thisfeature of being able to rotate -and `sim-ultaneously move along theaxis of rotation that makes drill press 10 particularlyl of the,invention. f

Within chuck 12 there is fitted aspecial vspindle indicated at 13;Spindle 13has a reduced size end 14 adapted to t chuck 112,l a shaftbody 15, an enlarged shoulder 16 and a Vflange 17. all vof which form`the integral vunit` 13. The face of lian-ge `17 is preferably roughenedas indicated at 18 and includes 4a tapped hole 19. The roughened face 18iscoveredby a"friction pad indicated at 2,0 which is'heldl tothe flange18 by means of "a screw 2'1 which passes through hole 22 and isengaged'with vthe tapped hole 19. As will .become more apparent from thelaterdescription, friction pad`20 acts as a rotating drive member forthe comminuting action to be described. Pad 20 has several purposes oneof which is to protect'the surface of face 18 from being subject towear. Another pu-rpose served is that of providing a' friction'wearsurface which produces relatively inert particles asit wears away. Forlthelast purpose, pad 20 ,ispreferably-made of an inert material such assiliconel rubber which gives both the desired `friction eflect vantithe'y desired wear qualities.

When applied to the problem'of separatin-g tissue, it has been^founddesirable to carry out the operation in a double receptacle pan such asthat shown in the drawings which allows ice, cool water or other coolingmedium to be held in the outer receptacle and applied to the innerreceptacle in which the operation is actually `being performed.. Asillustrated, the pan has a handle 25, a main receptacle'26 for holdingice or the like, and a'cylindrical inner receptacle 27 which is solderedwit-h a liquid tight' connection to the bottom of receptacle 26 by meansof a' collar 28 that surrounds receptacle 27 and is soldered to" bothreceptacles. `The bottom of inner receptacle 27 is roughened orotherwise made into a friction surface as indicated at 29 and to protectthis surface there isl provided a friction pad 30 which tits snuglywithin the wall of receptacle 27 and rests on the surface 29 during thecomminuting operation. i Pad 30 is similar to pad 20 in that both areintended to present friction wear surfaces which protect the surfaceseachcovers from wear and which also produce only inert particles as eachwears away from use. Pad 30 desirable for t purposes also serves l'thepurpose of retarding movement of vany material to be divided or anydisc, later described, which comes in contact with it. Accordingly,silicone rubber is preferably employed as a choice of material forpad'30.

With the pan located below the drill press 10, with spindle 13 installedand with pads 20 and 30 properly positioned, the receptacle 27 is readyto receive both the materials to be comminuted as well as the deviceswhich effect the comminution. For this purpose, the invention providesfor use of a plurality of discs as indicated at 34, 35,36 and 37 inFIGURES 4 and 5. In the most coml monly used form the discs are `ofsteel metal and each is perforated with uniform circular holes thatcover substantially the entire area of the disc. the discs is such as tomake them t snugly against and in slidable engagement with the insidewall of the receptacle 27 while leaving them free to rotate around theaxis of the receptacle. A s shown in the drawings, the discs are looselydisposed in a relatively horizontal position and the material to becomminuted is placed either on top of the pad 3l) or on top of thelowermost disc or in both The diameter of places, these positions beingindicated by the umbilical cord tissue specimens at 38 and 39.

In actual practice the loading operation is performed simply by droppingin the pad 30 which gives a friction surface at the base of thereceptacle 27, then dropping in a disc and if desired a piece of tissuespecimen to be comminuted, then dropping in more of the specimen andanother disc, then dropping in the remaining discs after which the mainreceptacle 26 is centrally located under the spindle 13. Just prior tothe comminuting operation it will be observed then that the discs andmaterials are loosely disposed in the receptacle 27 with the materialbeing placed below selected ones of the discs. It is desirable toarrange the discs by hand so that they are relatively horizontal in theevent they do not fall into such position when dropped in receptacle 27.

To commence the actual comminuting operation, the drill press 10 isstarted which causes pad 20 to rotate and as handle 11 is moved, pad 20comes into contact with the i uppermost disc 34 and causes this disc torotate. As handle 11 is continued in its movement, disc 34 will bebrought in relatively tight but somewhat slipping engagement with thenext uppermost disc 35 which will cause this last disc to also rotatebut at somewhat lesser speed.

That is, even though With the discs in rotation and the tissuematerialunder pressure between the discs, the tissue is forced to findits Way through the system so that there is somewhatof a combinedpressing and cutting action that takes place. While difficult to observeavery limited degreevof tearing or` grinding probably also takes placehowever it has been found that this does not disrupt the subcellularcomponents. Y The tissues will produce various liquids in the *processof being divided. These liquids will keep the discs lubricated as theyrotate and can be drawn otf if desired through outlet 40. It has beenfound desirable to stop the operation at times to observe the extent andcondition of the divided tissue and the operation is stopped entirelywhen the required degree of division is obtained. As each type of tissuematerial will be found to have its own optimum requirements, the user ofthe invention should study the etfect of different size holes, differentshape holes and the like on the particular material with which he isconcerned. v

As indicative of the various forms which the discs may take, there isshown in FIGURE 6 an array of discs from which it will be seen that theperforations may take the form of small circular holes as at 45, largecircular holes as at 46 or triangularholes as at 47. Each shape holewill have distinct comminuting characteristics on various materials sothat the particular comminuting configuration employed will necessarilybe adapted to the type of material being operated on, the degree andtype -of division required and the like. In the matter of variation, ithas also been observed that the cross sectional :shape of the holewillhave some effect on the efficiency :and characteristics of theinvention. This is illustrated :in FIGURE 7 in which 48 represents afrusto-conical 'shaped hole, 49 a sloping cylindrical hole and 50 acylindrical hole having its axis perpendicular to the plane of thediscs. A further variation is found in the surface effectas shown inFIGURE 8 in which a modified disc appears having only a single centralhole 51 through which the material is forced to rise and a plurality ofradially extending, triangular shaped channels 52. This last mentioneddisc when employed between the types .of discs having an array o fcircular holes produces a type of grinding action on such fibroustissues as become lodged between it and the disc immediately above.

From the description, the invention can be seen to reside from theviewpoint of apparatus in the provision of a cylindrical receptaclehaving a friction driving surface which engages a plurality of looselymounted perforated discs residing within and snugly fitting in slidableengagement the wall of the receptacle, and having material placedbetween them, so as to cause these discs to rotate at differing speedswhile pressing the discs together against a second relatively fixedfriction surface, the comminuting action being effected by the materialsbeing forced through and between the loosely mounted discs. From theviewpoint of method, the-invention will be seen as involving the stepsof placing the materials in a closed end cylinder, then placing looseperforated discs lon the material, then driving the outermost disc andpressing it towards the closed end to effect comminution.

While particularly useful to medical laboratories with respect to whichthe invention provides a means of obtaining division of tissue withoutdestroying the subcellular components, it is believed that theinventionwill also find application to more large scale apparatus and todividing other materials particularly those of a fibrous nature. Thewords comminuting comminution and the like are therefore chosen for lackof bettertermi'- nology/to encompass dividing processes, whether bycutting, breaking, tearing, grinding or otherwise to the extent thatthesemay be involved in practicing the invention.

Having described the invention, what I claim is:

.1. A comminuting apparatus comprising,n in combination, a cylindricalreceptacle havingan inside friction surface closing one end; a pluralityof perforated discs of a predetermined comminuting configuration looselymounted within saidl receptacle opposite said surface and snugly fittingthe inside wall thereof,l said discs beingl arrangedsubstantially'perpendicular to and being free to rotate with respect toand around the central axis of said receptacle; and means ladapted torotate the outermost of said discs' with respect to said surface whilemoving said outermost 'disc toward said surface whereby to forcetogether and cause rotation at varying speeds in others of said discs`and to effect comminution of any material placed so as to be forcedbetween at least a pair of said discs during said rotation.

2. A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which saidcomminuting conguration comprises 'circular holes penetrating said discsover subsetantially the whole area thereof.

3. A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including drain meansfor said receptacle.

4.' A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said meanscomprises a driven shaft movable along said axis and mounting a frictionsurface engageable with said outermost disc to effect said rotation. 5.A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in whichl said receptacleis lvertically disposed and said discs are horizontally disposed. s

6. A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said meanscomprises a movable electric drill mounting a shaft movable along saidaxis and having a friction surface engageable with said outermost discto effect said rotation.

7. A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which saidcomminuting configuration varies between different ones of said discs.

8. A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said frictionsurface comprises a material which is relatively inert with respect tothe material forced through said discs.

9. A comminuting apparatus comprising, in combination, a verticallydisposed relatively fixed cylindrical receptacle having a closed end anda friction padl covering said end; a plurality of perforated discs of apredetermined comminuting configuration loosely mounted within saidreceptacle opposite said pad and snugly fitting the inside wall thereof,said discs being arranged substantially perpendicular to and being freeto rotate with respect to and around the central axis of saidreceptacle; a driven vertically disposed spindle mounted above saidreceptacle and adapted to be moved downwardly along said axis; a secondfriction pad fixedly mounted to and at the'lower end of said spindle androtating therewith, movement of said spindle downwardly causing saidsecond pad to engage and rotate the outermost of said discs whereby toforce together and cause rotation at varying speeds in others of saiddiscs and to effect comminution of any material placed so as to beforced between at least a pair of said discs during said rotation, saidpads each being comprised of an inert friction material.

10. An apparatus for comminuting tissue materials and the likecomprising, in combination, a vertically disposed relatively fixedcylindrical receptacle having a closed end and a friction surfacecovering said end; a plurality of discs each having perforations ofgiven comminuting configuration over substantially the whole areathereof and being loosely mounted within said receptacle opposite saidsurface and snugly fitting the inside wall thereof, said discs beingarranged substantially perpendicular to and being free to rotate aroundthe central axis of said receptacle, said materials normally beingplaced between the lowermost of said discs and said surface prior tooperating said apparatus; and vertically movable driven spindle meanslocated above said receptacle and having a friction surface adapted tobeing engaged with the outermost of said discs while being moved towardsaid end surface whereby to force together and cause rotation at varyingspeeds in others of said discs and thereby effect comminution of saidtissue materials by forcing the same between said discs during saidrotation.

11. An apparatus for comminuting tissue as claimed in claim 10 whereinboth said end friction surface and said spindle friction surface arecomprised of a material inert to said tissue materials.

12. An apparatus for comminuting tissue as claimed in claim 11 in whichsaid vertically movable driven spindle means comprises an electric drillspindle mounted above said receptacle.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,074,397 9/1913Westby.

2,843,169 7/1958 Stein 146-68 3,221,788 12/1965 Hughes 146-192 X FOREIGNPATENTS 1,306,039 9/1962 France..

WILLIAM W. DYER, I R., Primary Examiner.

W. GRAYDON ABERCROMBIE, Examiner.

1. A COMMINUTING APPARATUS COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A CYLINDRICALRECEPTACLE HAVING AN INSIDE FRICTION SURFACE CLOSING ONE END; APLURALITY OF PERFORATED DISCS OF A PREDETERMINED COMMINUTINGCONFIGURATION LOOSELY MOUNTED WITHIN SAID RECEPTACLE OPPOSITE SAIDSURFACE AND SNUGLY FITTING THE INSIDE WALL THEREOF, SAID DISCS BEINGARRANGED SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO AND BEING FREE TO ROTATE WITHRESPECT TO AND AROUND THE CENTRAL AXIS OF SAID RECEPTACLE; AND MEANSADAPTED TO ROTATE THE OUTERMOST OF SAID DISCS WITH RESPECT TO SAIDSURFACE WHILE MOVING SAID OUTERMOST DISC TOWARD SAID SURFACE WHEREBY TOFORCE TOGETHER AND CAUSE ROTATION AT VARYING SPEEDS IN OTHERS OF SAIDDISCS AND TO EFFECT COMMINUTION OF ANY MATERIAL PLACED SO AS TO BEFORCED BETWEEN AT LEAST A PAIR OF SAID DISCS DURING SAID ROTATION.